Bottlestar Galactica

If Michigan environmentalists get their way, the state will dramatically expand its bottle law to cover 750 million additional beverage containers per year, including juice, water, and tea bottles that currently wind up as litter or in landfills. The state’s 1976 bottle law, which quickly cleaned up roadside litter, is both popular and successful. Every year, Michigan residents redeem 95 percent of the more than 4 billion bottles and cans covered by the bill. Now, enviros want to add a 10-cent deposit to other drink containers, but grocers and beverage distributors say the move would be costly and solve only a small fraction of the state’s garbage problem. Michigan is one of 11 states with a bottle bill; its deposit is the highest, but other states’ laws apply to a broader range of containers.

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